Warren Buffett lunch auction benefits Glide

Bidding for lunch with businessman, investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett will start Sunday evening on eBay.

The electronic auction starts at 7:30 p.m. to raise money for Glide, an organization that serves San Francisco’s poor, homeless and other vulnerable residents.

The auction ends at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The winner can take along up to seven friends to lunch at Smith & Wollensky, a steakhouse in New York City.

Bidding starts at $25,000 and bidders must be pre-qualified by going to eBay.com/glide.

The connection between Glide and the famous investor started more than 17 years ago when Buffett’s wife was living in San Francisco and volunteering at Glide.

She asked her husband if he would consider the auction and lunch to support Glide’s aims. Since then, the auction has raised more than $20 million for San Francisco’s most vulnerable residents.

This year is the 17th annual auction. The highest bid in the last 17 years was $3.5 million by an anonymous donor, according a spokeswoman for the auction.